Similar moments of pathos occur in "Break of Day", where the poets notes that, after dawn, the "spent night / stays on in the eyes of the blind", or in "Afterglow", when he refers to "the unanimous fear of the dark".

The Three Rivers show, among the region's largest, has 147 entries this year, "the most we've ever gotten," said Janet Kaiser, whose vibrant "Afterglow" quilt was machine-pieced and hand-quilted from a single piece of batik fabric that reminded her of a Lake Michigan sunset.

In my case, I just roll my eyes and put on The Very Best of Steely Dan (available in 4 formats in my household, all mine), or stick on that video of Genesis Live (where the pink lights on "Afterglow" still give me shivers up my spine, reminding me of the first gig my little sister & I ever went to) - and think, "bless".